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In the final instalment of the Mark Saul pipes|drums Interview, he discusses piping and drumming “traditions,” the ebb and flow of musical creativity, and what happens when bands try to challenge the establishment. The cultural divisions that can be seen with bands from various parts of the world are exposing new concepts and leading to the constant questioning of “authority.”

The Toronto Police Pipe Band will help to mark its centenary this year with a November 10th concert in downtown Toronto at the Opera House that will also feature the . . .

For most of the piping and drumming world north of the equator, the weather outside is frightful, so pipes|drums takes you back to the summer with another Hot Stove League video. This time, it’s high-definition video highlights of Angus MacColl, the virtuoso piper from Benderloch, Scotland, performing in the 2011 Lord Todd Challenge Recital at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow on August 11th. The Lord Todd Challenge is one of the hottest tickets of the piping year. The room is always filled to capacity, the bar six-deep and the excitement metre redlining, as five of the world’s greatest solo pipers converge in an invitational . . .

pipes|drums has learned from two separate inside sources that the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association will reportedly announce plans to make the World Pipe Band Championships a two-day competition, beginning in 2013 . . .

pipes|drums Magazine once again assembles a panel of experts to choose which piper, drummer, band, event and product are awarded our coveted New Year’s Honours.

In 1998 Jim McGillivray’s Rhythmic Fingerwork defined a new approach to developing light music technique, and now the Aurora, Ontario-based piper will unveil Piobaireachd Fingerwork, a 120-page, 10-chapter guide . . .

We continue our exclusive interview with Mark Saul of Melbourne, one of the leading composers and arrangers of pipe music of our time. In Part 2, Saul discusses the challenges of composing and publishing in the modern piping world, the role that the Victoria Police Pipe Band had on his work, and the band’s organization and strategy in its 1990s glory years. Mark Saul goes in to detail about the management style of Pipe-Major Nat Russell, the tuning genius of Robert Crozier, and dispels a few myths about the band that have evolved since its 1998 World Championship win.

The newest American Grade 1 band is the latest to sign a sponsorship agreement with Premier Percussion to play the English manufacturer’s instruments “for the foreseeable future,” according to City of Chicago Pipe Band . . .

For at least a weekend in January, Kansas becomes famous for something more than barbecue, fountains and a customarily poor baseball team, as the 2012 iteration . . .

One of the most powerful newspapers in the world, The New York Times, this week featured piping on its front page when Jori . . .

Alex Gandy won the Gold Medal Piobaireachd event, while Andrew Carlisle took home the top light music award and Colin Clansey won the Silver Medal Piobaireachd contest at the annual Winter Storm competitions, part of the weekend . . .

The annual “Piping Concert” at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow next week features two bands that will make their first appearances in a full-length show, when the Spirit of Scotland . . .

As one of the pipe band world’s oldest franchises, the Lothian & Borders Police have more than a century of tradition to look back upon . . .

The Grade 2 Penetangore Pipe Band of Kincardine, Ontario, has appointed Jamie Connolly as its new pipe-major after the previous leader emigrated from Canada to settle in Europe. Connolly has a long history of leadership experience in the top grades. He was previously pipe-major of the Toronto . . .

Call it Grey marketing. Michael Grey, one of the piping world’s most prolific composers, has made his 68-page fifth collection, Music for Everyone, available to all for free . . .

For pipers and drummers in the northern hemisphere it’s a long winter of band and personal practice, and you might be lucky enough to have the odd Celtic Connections or Winter Storm gathering. pipes|drums wanted to ensure the fires are burning, so we bring you video excerpts from our Pipes+Drums event at Piping Live! last August. Here you can enjoy the performances of Pipe-Major Chris Armstrong and Leading-Drummer Barry Wilson of ScottishPower, and Pipe-Major Stewart McKenzie and Leading-Drummer Graeme Parker of Manawatu Scottish. Both duos are playing at the top of their game . . .